You know you’ve been in the automotive aftermarket too long when after witnessing a car accident, besides the normal empathy for the human suffering, you tell yourself, “yeah, that’s going to need a new radiator, and probably some control arms and shock absorbers.” The real pros can even price the job in their heads for most vehicle Years, Makes and Models.
However, underlying an understanding of what parts are needed to fix a car, and typically the insurance coverage that pays for it, are the laws of who is responsible for what. While the actual laws of responsibility may change by country, at the very least, there is a mostly agreed-to framework where the blame falls upon the damager, and it is the damager’s responsibility to pay for those said damages.
The prime foundational text that defines such a concept in Western Civilization is in this week’s Torah reading (Exodus 21-24) called Mishpatim (literally “laws”). The Torah’s prime example of a valuable piece of equipment that could be used for both work and travel is an ox. Oxen are big, they are valuable, but they can also be quite dangerous, with an ability to harm or kill other people or beings on the road. There is a spectrum of responsibility the ox owner will have, not unlike a car owner.
The reading of Mishpatim opens with a detailed set of civil laws. It begins with the laws of the Hebrew servant: one who is sold serves six years and goes free in the seventh; if he came alone he leaves alone, if married his wife leaves with him. If his master gave him a wife and she bore children, the wife and children remain the master’s unless the servant chooses to stay permanently, in which case his ear is pierced at the doorpost. Laws follow regarding a Hebrew maidservant, her designation for marriage, and her rights to food, clothing, and marital relations.
The text turns to capital offenses: striking or cursing one’s parents, kidnapping, and premeditated murder. Distinctions are made between intentional and unintentional killing, with provision for a place of refuge. Laws address bodily injury—if men fight and injure another, payment for damages and medical costs is required. If a master strikes a servant and the servant dies immediately, the master is punished; if the servant survives a day or two, it is treated differently. Injury to a servant resulting in loss of an eye or tooth grants the servant freedom.
The scene shifts to damages caused by animals. If an ox gores someone to death, the ox is stoned; if the ox had previously gored and the owner was warned, the owner bears liability. Laws address injury to a pregnant woman during a fight, and the principle of “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” which the sages interpret as meaning assessing monetary compensation for the damages. Further cases cover injury caused by an ox to another ox, open pits left uncovered, theft of oxen or sheep and the required restitution, and the distinction between a thief caught breaking in at night versus by day.
The laws continue with property damage: grazing in another’s field, fire spreading and consuming grain, entrusted goods that are stolen or lost, and disputes over deposits. If a man borrows an animal and it is injured or dies, liability depends on whether the owner was present or if it was hired.
Next come social and moral laws. Seduction of an unbetrothed virgin requires marriage or payment. Sorcery, bestiality, and idolatry are prohibited under penalty of death. The people are warned not to oppress the stranger, widow, or orphan; mistreatment brings divine anger. Lending to the poor must not involve interest; a pledged garment must be returned by nightfall. The people are instructed not to curse judges or leaders and to bring first fruits and firstborn offerings. Meat torn in the field is not to be eaten.
Further commandments address justice: do not spread false reports, join the wicked, or pervert justice. Do not show favoritism to the poor or partiality to the great. Return a lost animal even if it belongs to an enemy. Do not oppress the poor in court or accept bribes. Do not oppress the stranger, recalling the experience in Egypt.
The rhythm shifts to sacred time. Six years the land is to be sown, but in the seventh it rests. Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest for all, including servants and animals. The people are told not to mention the names of other gods.
Three pilgrimage festivals are established: the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Matzot) (Passover or Pesach) in the month of Aviv in the spring, the Festival of Harvest with the first fruits (Shavuot), and the Festival of Ingathering at the year’s end (Sukkot). No leavened bread is to accompany sacrifices; the fat of offerings is not to remain overnight. The first of the first fruits is to be brought to the house of the Lord. The prohibition of eating meat and milk is given, phrased as “A kid is not to be boiled in its mother’s milk.”
The narrative widens to a promise of guidance. An angel is sent to guard the people on the way and bring them to the promised land. They are warned to obey him and not rebel. God promises to drive out the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites gradually, not in a single year. The boundaries of the land are described, from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Jordan River. No covenant is to be made with the inhabitants or their gods.
The final scene moves to the foot of the mountain and what appears to be a recounting of the encounter and revelation at Sinai. Moses is told to ascend with Aaron, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy elders, who bow from a distance. Moses alone approaches. He recounts all the words and ordinances to the people; they respond that they will do all that has been spoken. Moses writes the words, builds an altar with twelve pillars for the tribes, and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings. He reads the Book of the Covenant aloud; the people again declare they will do and obey. Moses takes the blood, sprinkles it on the people, and declares it the blood of the covenant.
Moses, Aaron, Nadav, Avihu, and the seventy elders ascend and behold the God of Israel; under His feet is a stone like sapphire, clear as the sky. They eat and drink. Moses is then called further up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the teaching and the commandment written by God. He enters the cloud that covers the mountain. The glory of the Lord rests on Sinai for six days; on the seventh day Moses is called from within the cloud. The appearance of the glory is like a consuming fire on the mountaintop before the eyes of the Israelites. Moses remains on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
This week’s reading really gets us into a fairly heavy dose of legislation. Many of it may seem logical, but it’s important to realize that it was revolutionary 3,000 years ago. The concept of individual rights, human rights, property rights and many of the underpinnings of civil society simply did not exist and weren’t formulated before.
This really became the foundation of much of Western Civilization law and the broader social contract.
Next week we enter a new theme that will carry us through most of the rest of the Book of Exodus, the construction of the Tabernacle and everything that surrounds creating a “physical” home for God on Earth.
